This might be a bit late, due to the planned reworks to the system already coming, but i figured i might as well post this anyway.
Remove professions in their current form, and replace them with blueprints for everything, so that you must find them in random encounters of different rarity, and change repair and science in to things that reduce crafting cool downs, along with maybe a possible "Profession" system that would allow you to be trained in crafting one type of item, drugs, small guns, etc, to reduce the cooldowns on those items as if you had 200 skill in repair or science, which ever skill it took, however these would have different levels of IN requirements, depending on just what you're trying to be trained in.
Granted, this wouldn't change alting, but it would mean that crafting is easier, since you can just use almost any character to make items, but that you'd need to find the blueprints to the items you want to craft, thus making BA and other items rarer, just like the devs are already planning.
No it's not realistic, but neither is gaining a few levels and paying an NPC some money so he'll teach you how to make a plasma rifle, people will still alt, but if you can make your minigun with your combat character and just make a level 1 miner alt to get you resources, then i think everybody will be happy they have one less thing to make and level.
-Ulrek-
